Paul Keres Video Biography

Part One
Arguably, Paul Keres was the greatest chess player in history never to win the World Championship. For this reason, he is sometimes dubbed "The Crown Prince" of chess. 

 In fact, however, Keres did win the 1938 AVRO "super tournament" in Holland, ostensibly to earn the right to challenge Alexander Alekhine, the acknowledged World Chess Champion.



Unfortunately- to say the least- World War Two interrupted the plans, and the match never materialized- although, perhaps controversially, both Alekhine and Keres continued to play chess in Germany during the war. Keres married in 1941 and won the "Posen tournament" of 1943 which was organized and hosted by the Wehrmacht, the German army.

Part Two
Paul Keres participated in six Candidate's cycles to determine who had the right to challenge the World Chess Champion. In the last five of these events, Keres finished 2nd or joint 2nd.



This is why he is known as the "Crown Prince of Chess"- he never became King, but of all of the Princes, he was surely first among these.